My friends think I'm a freak because I very rarely eat Subway or Nando's; as far I can tell it's just, not especially good quality, grilled chicken that has been marinated in peri-peri sauce. Am I missing something here?

>>5883Nandos feels like a proper restaurant, but is as predictable (and consistent) as a McDonald's. I.e. you get the ease of eating fast food without the "stigma" of eating fast food. Add in that it's not especially expensive and you're onto a winner, even if their actual food is not great.

Nando's isn't especially great, but there's not much you can do wrong with sticking chicken and chillies together in some pitta bread. I don't mind eating there if people want to, even though I can never help thinking how easily I could have just made the same meal at home in the time it took to go to the restaurant.

Subway is just proper shit, though. Their ingredients are horrendously low quality.

Nandos is very poor by any stretch of the imagination. The meat is horrible and the chips are uninspiring. It is incredibly bland and largely popular with boring people. Pino Grigio at an office get-together sort of thing, junior management women with that school secretary look about them. Grey suit trousers. They might even say stuff like "dead classy" and keep dead twigs in a white vase near their TV. They like Dido.

Anyway fuck Nandos. A friend of mine worked there and basically told me never to eat any of the chicken. That kind of accolade made my mind up. Even Wetherspoons is better than Nandos, in that you can actually order something reasonably nice from a menu. You can see into the kitchen in one of the Spoonses in my hometown, and that's pretty reassuring.

Anyway Spoons isn't great but it's better than Nandos. But why would you bother going to either when every town in the country has a better, cheaper option?

>>5889>t is incredibly bland and largely popular with boring people. Pino Grigio at an office get-together sort of thing, junior management women with that school secretary look about them. Grey suit trousers. They might even say stuff like "dead classy" and keep dead twigs in a white vase near their TV. They like Dido.

You just described my girlfriends mother. This is going in the Christmas card this year.

>Nandos is very poor by any stretch of the imagination. The meat is horrible and the chips are uninspiring.

I can't see that the meat is that bad. It's just fresh A-grade chicken which has been flame grilled and doused in hot sauce. It's hardly inspiring, but it's not objectively bad either. To criticise simply prepared fresh food like that but praise over-processed shit like Wetherspoon's is weird.

It isn't fresh, simply prepared or indeed "grade A". The chickens they use are battery farmed and usually class B. It's covered in artificial sauces which are bland yet full of flavour enhancers (rather than actual ingredients) resulting in a terrible mess of nasty textures and greasy seasoning. Whether you agree with the ethics of intensive farming or not, it produces a much lower grade of meat. If you're used to bad meat, then Nandos probably doesn't taste that different, but it really is low grade stuff.

While Spoons is a far cry from fine dining, it has a more interesting menu with better ingredients. The beef is Farm-Assured, they bother to use Maris Piper spuds, the sausages are free from crap, the eggs are free range, the fish is sustainably caught... It's still Spoons, the puddings are still microwaved and the curries come from a tub, but it's better quality food than Nandos for a fraction of the price.

You've never heard of Wetherspoons? What manner of cave have you been living in? They sell cheap beer and passable grub, it's my temple. They steaks are the only thing I'll eat mind you because I know they grill them fresh.

Not especially expensive?! Lad, it's about £14 for a beer, shitty bit of chicken and a fistful of chips. I've only been to Nandos once and can happily say I'll never return. When I dine out, I like to be so full that I feel sick afterwards... Nandos wouldn't fill the stomach of a starving Ethiopian.

Lad, the website for an entertainment complex in Manchester isn't a valid source of information.

For starters, "A-grade" actually doesn't mean anything. I can legitimately bludgeon a chaffinch to death and sell it as "A-grade". In the UK we have a meat class system - Class A and Class B. It isn't even particularly relevant.

The fact that it's been marinated for 24 hours doesn't change the quality of the chicken. It arguably masks the taste and texture of mediocre meat, but it isn't a refined cooking technique and definitely doesn't merit the prices.

If you don't mean to be argumentative, why are you voraciously defending a mediocre institution with non-facts derived from extraneous sources? I suggest you reassess your allegiance and stop eating at terrible restaurants.

The Spoons steaks are pretty reasonable. They aren't generally the best examples of their cuts, but they stand up to basic inspection and tick all their respective boxes. I've often wondered why the steak sauces are advertised as "suitable for vegetarians" though.

>>5904Less than £15 quid for a meal out in a restaurant-type place featuring semi-table service is what I consider "not especially expensive". Whether it's value for money is different question entirely and in that regard I'd agree.

> Nandos wouldn't fill the stomach of a starving Ethiopian.
I disagree. The "half a chicken with two sides" is reasonably filling (for me, at least, and at a touch over 15st I'm not exactly a minimalist when it comes to eating).

Anyway, it's not like I'm recommending the place, but it's so thoroughly bland, average and uninspired that it's hard to actually find something to genuinely dislike about it. I don't get the rave either, but I find the almost visceral hatred some people have of the place equally baffling.

I'm going to be controversially un-edgy and say that I like Nandos. If a mate of mine said let's go to Nandos I would not recoil in disgust. I have bottles of Peri Peri sauce in my fridge and I use them on my own chickens.

inb4 cretinous inchworm or whatever the latest forced meme of the day is

Incidentally this is what Nandos say about their chicken on their website. Notably there is no mention of what class they may be.
Currently, Nando’s uses barn-reared chickens. Our whole chickens are sourced from the UK and supplied to us fresh by Faccenda and Freemans of Newent, who supply our halal chickens.
A small percentage of our chicken breast fillets are sourced from Holland and Germany as demand for this product outweighs supply in the UK. We do not purchase battery reared chickens or any manufactured chicken product.
We insist on the highest standards of hygiene and quality from our suppliers, who comply with the ACP (Assured Chicken Production) industry standards. Our barn-reared chickens are housed in deep littered, well-ventilated barns and have constant access to food and water. They are fed non-GM feed and are free from antibiotic growth promoters.
As part of a continuous process of reviewing all aspects of our supply to make certain our products are properly and ethically sourced. We are also actively looking at RSPCA Freedom Foods and Free Range chicken.
Nando’s prides itself in offering great tasting food at great value. Chicken welfare is of utmost importance however we also need to consider the price our customers are willing to pay.

I've not been in a long time, but Nando's fillet burger and chips is probably the best meal I've ever eaten. Bunch of poncy Frenchies in this thread. Some of you will probably suspect me of attempting to troll, but I'm dead serious.

>>5891>keep dead twigs in a white vase near their TV
My girlfriend's mum actually has this. Are we dating the same woman?

>>5912I shall join you and fester in un-edgy-ness. Yes, I could cook similar at home, but what you really pay for is for someone to cook and clean for you, as well as the food itself. Good place to go if you want to get out the house but don't have too much money to spend. I usually go for the mash rather than chips though, I must admit. And from experience it seems that some places are better than others so maybe I'm just lucky/ all of you are unlucky.

I'd place it in the same league as places like Bella Italia or Pizza Express, rather than Maccy Dees. Stuff you could do yourself, but they just do it a little bit better, and isn't made by deep fast frying chunks of offal.

HUNGRY Ross Dance bit into a Nando's chicken wrap — and found he was chomping on a live FROG. The horrified diner managed to spit out the 4in-long animal, but fears he may have already eaten one of its legs.

>We do not purchase battery reared chickens
This would depend on whose definition of "battery farm" you use.

>ACP (Assured Chicken Production) industry standards
Industries can invent their own standards for anything and then stick a nice shiny label on the packaging. Only independent standards are worth anything.

>We are also actively looking at RSPCA Freedom Foods and Free Range chicken.
And I'm actively looking at buying a Ferrari but it's not going to happen any time soon.

I think we've essentially established that Nando's is mediocre at best, that their constant waffling about quality means precisely fuck all, and that their target demographic is the dull, semi-chavvy, dead-twigs-in-a-vase brigade.

He can barely adjust his face to make a recognisable expression. He's an accounts manager and he has a wife called Karen. The amount of potpourri and dead twigs in his (mostly white, tan and beige) sitting room is probably enormous. Karen probably says stuff like "dead classy" and I bet this is the most interesting thing that will happen in their entire lives.

>>7104>Doesn't really mean anything.
>depend on whose definition of "battery farm" you use

So let me get this straight, you're saying that the words 'barn-reared' and 'battery-reared' do not mean what they say they mean? Explain yourself. Do you think Nando's wouldn't be done for misleading customers if they were happy to advertise that they do not purchase battery hens when in fact they do?

Most battery farming is done in barns. All chickens are barn reared, whether they're confined in cages or not.

Now, I'm not him and I don't think they're outright lying, but they're not telling the truth either, and their chicken is not free-range Class A like they're eager to imply it is with their "barn-raised A-grade" talk.

>>7113When they say that their chicken is not battery they use the technical definition of battery, but the public generally think battery farming is just anything involving cages. So what they say is completely true, but misleading at the same time.

Also, their assertion that they don't use battery farming is a red herring anyway.
-It will actually be illegal to use battery farms from next year, so they don't really have a choice about this.
-and battery farming is mainly only used for eggs, the only way a battery farmed chicken would ever end up on your plate will be as a processed lump of meat covered in batter.

>>7111The ASA is ineffectual enough as it is when it comes to punishing companies for complete lies. When companies write things like this about their products, everything they say can be argued as being entirely true, but they rely on the ignorance of the public to make them think it means something else.

>>5902I know someone who worked at spoons. The steaks are green before they are cooked. Also they treat staff like shit.

Never been to a Nando's but I'm a Subway fan. You get the convenience of fast food but less grease than Burger King or Macdonald's. And I like how you can actually choose exactly what goes on your sub. I'm sure the ingredients aren't super top notch but no fast food ever will be.

>>8690I was first introduced to Nandos by a friend I met at university, who wasn't exactly a LAD, but decidedly working class. I was horrified that I was supposed to eat chicken with my hands, having been raised by middle-class parents to always respect proper table etiquette. It didn't even taste good.

Not that I'm really complaining that someone took the time to look for a related thread before posting, but this thread is almost 2 years old.

I remember posting in it, but it was so long ago that I no longer recognise which post might be mine. Still, I've not been to Nandos yet and I noticed one in Stirling. Seeing this thread again has put me right off again, so probably worked out best.

Thankfully it seems the place is so fucking popular now there's an hour or two to wait to eat there, so I never have to face it even if my idiot friends want it. "Oh no but we're hungry now, that's a shame we'll have to go somewhere that actually sells food"

>>8694I wouldn't have been arsed to trawl through all the pages in the hope the thread still existed. It's a good job we have the catalogue. I didn't realise the thread was so old, though. I sort of enjoy reading (or guessing which ones are) my old posts.

I'd honestly rather eat at Maccy D's since unlike Nando's I can't cook it at home cheaper, better, and without the company of twig-bothering HR staff. Blumenthal himself would struggle to recreate the ethereal, sponge-like burgers in question.

There's something quite sad about people seeing a place like Nando's as aspirational. It reminds me of reading about some poorer, Asian countries where eating KFC is treated as a formal night out.

>>8705If I've read /sentry/ right (probably not) then you're from Hull. If you're in town then go to Trinity Market, there's a couple of sandwich stalls that don't look like much but offer cracking sandwiches.

I posted >>5912 two years ago and thought I'd check if Nando's policy had changed. It's nearly identical, except that they've removed the bit about getting chicken breasts from Holland and Germany (even though they still qualify all the chicken they source from Britain being "whole") and, suspiciously, the part about the chickens being "fed non-GM feed and are free from antibiotic growth promoters". Hmmmmm.

>>8706Ahh Freshco, next to that barmy Italian guy selling home made pizzas and pasta! They offer good scotch eggs.
Do you remember Skeltons selling cheesy scotch eggs, with a layer of cheese between the meat and egg?

>>8849I can't say I've seen him in a while. Last time I was in Newland Carvery the woman there kept offering me meat to try, afterwards I barely had room for the sandwich I'd bought. I've also heard that there's a sandwich shop about 100 yards down Hessle Road that's very generous with the fillings they give you and I still need to try Olive Garden on Prinny Ave.

>>9193Sad to think that on one of our fanciest avenues the best food place is a sandwich shop, isn't it? Bar a few which are obviously wank before you even go in I've eaten everywhere down Prinny Ave and nowt's impressed me that much. A mate of mine was a chef at Boar's Nest and the owner packed up and moved to South Cave, his comment being "people come down here to get pissed, I'm not going to get taken seriously as a restaurant down here".

On the topic of delightful indie establishments, though, have any of you hullfa.gs been to English Muse for a nice coffee yet? It's not bad. More and more coffee shops popping up, it's good to see.

>>9198My favourite down there is Thai House. Laundry is alright, but I found the service quite poor.

Aside from Raj Pavilion I reckon the best places are around town; Lion & Key, Garbo's, Wilson on the marina does a fantastic gammon and chips and if you can afford it then the food at 1884 is exquisite. I've also heard good things about Swadh on the old Hedon Road.

I've never heard of English Muse, it sounds like the kind of place you'd get down Newland Ave.

I've always found the Real Sandwich shop in Ezzle square and just along from the McDonalds in town really nice, their Turkey/cranberry/stuffing bap has helped overcome many rough heads.

I'm quite fond of that Hitchcock's Vegetarian restaurant in town, you can take in your own booze too. The only weird thing is how it's a buffet. Napoleon's restaurant isn't too bad either from what I can remember, though we just got a cheap meal each and won back enough to cover the meal and a taxi home with the vouchers they give you...

>>9202I've been to Hitchcocks many times and I almost always end up bored by the food as it tends to be bland and stodgy. The only time I've been impressed was when they had some lovely marinated carrots. If it wasn't for the puddings I'd leave their hungry.

If you're after veggie food then Zoo isn't bad. It always tickles me when their specials are whatever is on offer at Jack Fultons across the road.

>>9200>Laundry is alright
You think? I thought their menu was trying to be fancy but their chefs just couldn't match up to it. I took our department there for Christmas dinner and everyone's food came a bit wrong somehow, my rosti was rock hard and more people's veg was "a bit too al dente" (the phrase that was getting thrown around). Also the only two people that had steak got food poisoning.

I went to 1884 the other night and it was honestly the best dining experience I've ever had without having to leave Hull for it. Not quite on par with Pipe & Glass near Bev, obviously, but not as pricey either. I'm now desperate for an excuse to go back.

Never tried Hitchcock's, nor have I tried Green Ginger but I've wanted to for a while. I'm just not a big fan of mushrooms and I've heard veggie types tend to eat a lot of them because they secretly miss meat and mushrooms are as close as they can get.

Without turning this into yet another Hull thread (too late for that, soz everyone else), I'd love some more recommendations around here as I'm running out of new places to eat.

>>9299It's well over a year since I went to Laundry, but I found the food very agreeable. I guess it helps that when I went it was almost empty and the chefs won't have been rushed like they would over Christmas.

There's not a lot of mushrooms at the buffet at Hitchcocks. It's a different theme every night (whoever books first for the night gets to choose the menu) but it's quite bland. I think that their core clientele* are so grateful just to have a vegetarian restaurant instead of having to make yet another choice between a cheese and tomato tart or five bean chilli that they lap it up regardless.

If you like fish then I recommend Lion & Key. The chefs there used to work at Ceruttis, which is probably the best fish restaurant in Hull but it's very dated and a bit stuffy inside. Tony Cerutti is very welcoming, though. I'm also fond of Green Dragon in Welton, it's a Marstons but the food is far superior to what's on offer at the likes of Goldcrest and Warton Arms.

As far as I can tell, there are 3 main groups of people you will see at Hitchcocks:-

1. Students who like the informal hippy vibe.
2. People who have dragged their friends, date or family there for a special occasion, usually a birthday. If it's family then the dad will invariably make a quip about having a plate full of chips and nothing else or popping to a takeaway on the way home to get a burger. The stubborn attitude of the dad makes the veggie more determined to like Hitchcocks.
3. Banshees. Groups of up to 20 women who spend the evening working their way through several bottles of wine and cackling like witches. They're too pissed to care what's actually on the plate in front of them.

Oh Jesus Christ that description triggered my PTSD. No good can come of a table like that, and apparently they don't even tip as they are protecting their fucking pooled 'kitty' like its the holy sacrament. Just shuffle credit cards like normal fucking people. But try to refuse them service, I dare you.

>>9302>Cerutti's
I was going to bung that in my post and ask if anyone's tried it, actually. It's always closed when I wander past but I've heard nothing but good things about the menu. Two Rivers in The Deep is apparently shite food and you're basically just sitting in a canteen that's had an evening makeover but I still want to try it out.

Speaking of dated and stuffy inside, have you tried Lantern on Whitefri'gate? I went years not even knowing it's there but I went in January and the food is just great. It's supposed to be Cypriot food but everyone I know that's been has had steak because they were told the steak is amazing. I had the steak, it was amazing. Paid the reasonable £17 for a fillet and it didn't disappoint at all. You pay for your veggies on the side but if you're paying £17 for steak then £3 for something to go with doesn't really take the piss. Decor is reminiscent of a Teddy's Amusements that hasn't been done up since the seventies, plastic ornaments and dusty curtains and all that. We had the restaurant to ourselves, I'd love to go again in spite of the time travel.

>>9318I went to Lantern again on Wednesday and was again the only person in the restaurant for some time. However, I was treat like a king and my steak was amazing. If you can catch them when they're open, I highly recommend you go.

I know I'm more than a little late to this thread, but I might as well throw my oar in as I ate at a Nando's for the first time a few weeks ago. I had basically the OP with a coke, no dessert. I'm surprised they're a rising success because to me it just tasted like fast-food chicken and fast-food chips. Which is alright, I'm not that snobby about my food, but it cost over a tenner and for that kind of money I expect (and can easily get elsewhere) some proper food.

>>9443Yes it is and it's amazing. I'm surprised you actually pinpointed its location, it's quite easy to walk right past even if you're looking for it.

I've actually been back again because my friend wanted steak last week and I didn't know where else to take him. I'll recommend you get the fillet steak because it really is perfect and supplement with some french fried onions (onion rings) and the peppercorn sauce but whatever you decide to get do let me know how it is because I feel a bit bad getting the same thing every time I go back.

To put things into scope, I regularly eat three meals a day consisting of fish and sometimes have to make the conscious effort to eat something that isn't fish, Lantern has a menu with about ten different kinds of fish and I don't even give them a look after trying that steak. It's really a case of "I could try this... but I know I'm going to leave happy with the steak".